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The sphere is a shape that is repeated throughout nature: from the planets, to an egg and a pebble. When created by sculptors, the sphere is the epitome of skill. Taking a rough-hewn hunk of marble or wood, the mass must be carved, moulded, sanded or bent to become a smooth ovoid. A round orb fashioned from natural material is the result of hours of handwork, sometimes years of practice and a huge amount of dedication.

Constantin Brancusi was one of the pioneers of modern sculpture who decreed that "What is real is not the external form but the essence of things". In work such as Mademoiselle Pogany - a form that he revisited many times in various materials, he explored this theory, reducing physical features to their most basic lines. Mme. Pogany recalled that, when sitting for him, he would create a bust, only to throw it back into the boxful of clay he was working from, continually reworking until he was happy with the result.

Constantin Brancusi - Mlle Pogany I

Constantin Brancusi - Mlle Pogany I (1913) Speed Art Museum

Jimo created this cut and style, which has echoes of Brancusi's forms, using SALAKO matte clay which can be used to sculpt the hair, giving definition and hold, alongside SALAKO milk to moisturise and protect. To make an appointment with Jimo, please email: studio@salakolondon.com

We live much of our lives online. Food, everyday items, luxury items, holidays, dates and services can all be got with a keyboard, monitor and mouse.

The internet is a wonderful thing and has transformed our experience of living, loving, communicating, organizing and accessing. Want to know where the best restaurant in Tirana is? You can Google that. How far away is the moon from earth: ditto. I’d like to order a dress from a designer in New York but I live in Shanghai. Enter a web address and in a few short clicks it’s yours.

Inevitably, all of these online explorations impact on our tangible lives. As if by magic, these virtual happenings are translated into physical reality. How we discover this reality is often through touch. Tactility is an important way for us to understand the world, and we use our fingers and skin to decipher the texture and form of an object.

When we move our fingers through hair, we can discern whether it is short, curly, straight, oily or dry. These qualities dictate how hair sits on the head, what kind of cut is best suited to it and which products should be used. Of course, products can be ordered online but as yet, it’s not possible to get your hair cut in the digital realm. For that, you need to email: studio@salakolondon.com to book your IRL experience.

Following on from the huge success of Black Panther and the amazing hairstyles created by Camille Friend, which form such an important element of the aesthetic and message of the film, Salako Journal was inspired to look back at the iconic Benin Bronzes.

The act of hair styling and cutting necessarily 'sculpts' the hair - bending its direction, texture and form to create shapes and movement - a kinetic sculpture. But hair in sculptures, specifically as depicted in the thirteenth century Benin Bronzes is a different way of depicting hair in a form other than itself, in this case, metal. The Benin Bronzes were created using a sophisticated method of lost-wax casting and a precise composition of copper, zinc and lead. The initial moulds would be incised and sculpted in wax and filled with molten metal. The finished pieces decorated the palace of the king (Oba) of Benin (modern-day Nigeria) and were commissioned periodically to commemorate a current king's predecessor.

What is particularly interesting about the sculptures is the ways in which different hairstyles are depicted. the time and care taken to represent different braiding, coiling and texture is testament to the significance given to hair in signifying tribe and rank in African society. In one figure, the hair is arranged in a geometric style, cut high on the forehead, consisting of hundreds of braided strands which form a kind of headpiece.

Benin head - British Museum

In another, long, thin coils dangle down the length of the figure's neck, finishing in little twisted balls which may have served to weight the hair.

Head of an Oba - Metropolitan Museum of Art

One stunning piece, depicting a Queen of Ife, features an elaborate cone shaped trellis lengthening from the base of the head, adding majesty to her sculpted face and creating the required regality expected of these sculptures which were made by a select group of highly-skilled craftsmen who lived on-site at the palace. The palace was looted during a colonial insurgence by British forces in the late 19thC, with the majority of the bronzes now held at the British Museum.

Queen Mother's head - British Museum

In their realisation and construction, these sculptures are examples of art of the highest quality. The hair featured as an integral part of them functions not only to express the standing of their subjects at the Royal Court but as a way for the sculptors to demonstrate their prowess as masters of carving and moulding. Their ancient penchant for showing off is our gain. Go see at: www.britishmuseum.org or www.metmuseum.org

Hair & artwork - Jimo Salako

In a contemporary take on hair and form, Jimo has been exploring the way in which natural and man -made structures echo the textures and shapes of hair in both his hair work and artwork.

Hair & artwork - Jimo Salako

Interpreting African hairstyles for European and non-European hair, these pieces demonstrate how the Benin Bronzes continue to make their presence felt through the ages.

Nature and landscape have been a huge influence on Jimo’s approach to hair styling, from the textural sculptures created in his session work to his consideration of how hair sits, falls and moves. Treating hair as a material is an integral part of Jimo’s hair cutting and styling process.

For the past twenty years, Jimo has been developing and exploring the theme of hair and its relationship to nature, through a series of artworks which feature both natural and man-made forms. From the repetition found in a flint wall, its bonds made stronger by the placing of stones in precise lines, echoing the keratin structure of hair; to a mass of foliage, which finds parallels in the weight of a haircut, its multiple layers supporting each other: a literal interpretation of ‘undergrowth’.

Portraits taken outside use the elements to create an image – sunlight highlights different densities and textures and the wind styles the hair according to its will.

It is not just natural forms which find their way into Jimo’s work – a tube escalator’s fine ridges reflect strands of hair lying flat next to each other. A steel bridge reminds us of the structures that are present in hair, with thicker sections interspersed with thinner, single hairs.

These landscape images represent a shift from Jimo being based in one space to many. Alongside this new-found creative freedom, there will be an expansion into art/education and pop-up events. Jimo is available by appointment at the new Atelier Theory space at 85 George St., London W1U 8AQ - bookings via studio@salakolondon.com

In honour of legendary editor Franca Sozzani, who passed away at the end of last year, we are turning over the SALAKO salon to Vogue Italia for the next four weeks.

Vintage issues from the 1990s, featuring seminal shoots from the likes of Sozzani's long-term collaborator, Steven Meisel and artists such as Vanessa Beecroft and Maurizio Cattelan, will be on display to read and purchase with 10% of proceeds from magazine sales going to the Child Priority Charity, founded by Franca Sozzani, Jonathan Newhouse and Gianpaolo Grandi (both of Condé Nast), which supports artistically talented children from impoverished backgrounds throughout the world.

Sozzani's tenure, as editor of Vogue Italia since 1988, was typified by creating a collage of fashion, art and topical journalism, producing ground-breaking issues which explored diversity in fashion (the infamous Black Issue of 2008) and plus-size (Vogue Curvy).

Her work led to the award of the prestigious Legion d'Honneur in 2012 and her interests and editorial choices had far reaching cultural impact.

Looking back on these magazines, produced nearly twenty years ago, Sozzani's bold and innovative approach to editing shines from the pages, with most of the fashion pages looking as though they were shot yesterday. Each issue features iconic fashion images which were created by a mixture of established names and those just starting their illustrious careers. Certainly, the styling and photography of this period has had a huge impact on today's fashion and these vintage issues are coveted by fashion designers, photographers and artists alike.

Come and enjoy this slice of fashion history at:

SALAKO, 85 George St W1U 8AQ
020 7262 5620
info@salakolondon.com

We will be posting various cover shots and fashion stories on our Instagram account: @salakolondon so keep looking to see if your favourite issue is featured.

With Valentine's Day just around the corner, we thought we would take a closer, more clinical look at the cause of love (who says romance is dead?).

Commonly called the 'love drug', oxytocin is a hormone secreted by the pituitary gland and is crucial to childbirth and breastfeeding. It is an important element of the bonding process in human (and human-animal) relationships. Proven to affect cognitive function, alongside emotional behaviour patterns, it is a factor in regulating social behaviour, reducing anxiety and helping people to build trust.

A recent study examined the levels of oxytocin in single people and couples. It was found that new couples have high levels of oxytocin present which remained consistently heightened over a period of six months. Other behaviours affected by this versatile brain transmitter include anger (it can increase over-sensitivity to others) and it has been shown to help patients suffering from depression.

If you are planning to meet the person of your dreams or celebrate love with your chosen one (including yourself) this Valentine's, come to SALAKO for an up-do, blow dry or new-look colour and cut and spread the love...

Here at SALAKO we are all about championing inspiring women. Our clients include professional women from areas such as the arts, law, science, the charity sector and business. But this woman in particular caught our eye via Atlas Obscura and we decided to feature her on SALAKO Journal as a fitting inspiration for the coming year.

Her name was Martha Matilda Harper who hailed from Canada (like our very own Vanessa Trudell). Born in 1857, she had humble beginnings but fortuitously became employed by a German doctor, who bequeathed her his hair lotion formula upon his death.

Continuing work as a domestic servant, she tended to her employer's hair and came up with the idea of public hair salons for women. With her own savings, she opened her first shop in 1888, later introducing self-designed reclining hair chairs and purpose built wash basins, which are now commonly seen in hairdressers throughout the globe.

Another of her innovations was the concept of franchising, setting up a network to empower poor women and opening 100 Harper's salons across the USA which expanded to 500 across the world by the time the company closed in the 1970s.

Her energy, ideas and dedication are an inspiration to us at SALAKO and we look forward to sharing our own creations and developments with you in 2017.

Join the team from Will Williams Meditation www.willwilliamsmeditation.co.uk to discover how vedic meditation can change your life: helping with stress, insomnia, anxiety and other conditions which exist in our fast-paced, modern world.

Vedic meditation is a deep form of meditation that can be done anywhere, even on the bus! This makes it an ideal form of meditative practice for contemporary practitioners. Join us for an informal gathering which will focus on the many benefits that it can bring.

The evening will begin with an introductory talk with complementary herbal tea, followed by guided meditation and Q&A.

Free to attend but places are limited. To reserve a space, please email: helen@willwilliamsmeditation.com

2016 has started with an extraordinary display by Nature. Clouds with a mother-of-pearl shimmer have been sighted drifting across the sky in Britain. A rare occurrence, nacreous clouds form when the stratosphere drops to polar temperatures to create a visually spectacular show similar to the Northern Lights.

Their colours however, are far from the rainbow, after which they are sometimes eponymously named. Although similarly-hued, with flashes of orange and yellow, they mainly take on the cooler end of the colour spectrum: purples, violets and soft toned pinks. Their overall look is nuanced, rather than clearly defined.

Nuance derives from the French for cloud: le nuage, 'to cloud' - to soften the edges and allow for a slippage between real and non-real.

In hair colour, the skill involved in creating nuance is in using pigment to achieve an effect where both natural hair colour and applied hair colour blend to create a subtle difference in tonal range.